Work Culture
Boys Town offers professional development, community outreach and networking opportunities for all employees.
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Commitment
From its inception in 1917, Boys Town welcomed all children, regardless of race, religion, or diverse backgrounds. At the time, many believed such integration to be scandalous and wrong, but Father Flanagan was steadfast in rejecting all forms of discrimination, and embraced every child who needed hope, a home and a helping hand. His strong values and courage in the face of adversity made Boys Town itself the first intentionally integrated community in the United States.
Father Flanagan’s deep belief and fearless commitment to diversity and equality remain the foundational cornerstone of Boys Town. We are committed to creating a culture of respect by attracting, developing and retaining diverse employees, who feel comfortable in bringing their authentic selves to work. We want all employees to feel engaged, challenged and appreciated for who they are. Embracing, advocating and promoting DEI remain at the heart of everything we do, as we work together to save children and heal families.
In the words of our President and Chief Executive Officer Rod Kempkes …
Father Flanagan created and built Boys Town on a foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He did this at a time in history, where having people of all faiths, ethnicities and diverse backgrounds live, work, learn, and worship together was controversial and potentially dangerous. In recent years, when organizations nationwide have been scrambling to develop DEI plans and working to incorporate these values into their culture, Boys Town was already more than 100 years into our own DEI journey.
Today, our commitment to embracing, advocating, and promoting DEI remains at the heart of everything we do. We celebrate the different perspectives and talents that make each of us unique, and we value how they ultimately contribute to making our organization stronger and more unified. We truly are ONE BOYS TOWN!
Raise Awareness
While we have made great strides on our DEI journey, we know we still have work to do. Leaders and employees must learn to actively listen to their co-workers, to recognize their own biases, histories and everyday actions in a new light. We must understand that “standing up” in support of inclusion is everyone’s responsibility. Awakening honesty and action are more important than ever.
Support Employees
In support of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, we continually offer resources to enable employees to have honest, reflective and productive conversations with colleagues and co-workers. Our goal is to offer employees the tools they need to ensure that everyone feels valued and appreciated for who they are and the contributions they bring to our organization.
Leadership Commitment
Our leadership team is devoted to identifying and breaking down systemic barriers to diversity and equity in our workplace to continue building upon Boys Town’s legacy of inclusion.
Our Values
- We value diversity
- We treat others with dignity and respect
- We treat others the way we like to be treated
Training and Development
We foster an exchange of ideas and an array of training and development opportunities to engage and educate our employees on their individual DEI “learning journeys.”
Transparency and Communications
We encourage open communication about our organization’s diversity and inclusion goals, progress and challenges, and champion a sense of shared responsibility.
Talent Acquisition
With the goal of building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment, we continue our efforts to attract, recruit, support and retain prospective and existing applicants/candidates who share our DEI values and whose actions support them.
Training and Development
We foster an exchange of ideas and an array of learning opportunities to engage and educate our employees on their individual DEI “learning journeys.”
Collaborative Efforts
We advocate for cross-functional collaboration and engagement in diversity and inclusion initiatives. To foster a sense of collective responsibility.
Intranet Resources Page
This page includes resources, book recommendations, articles, videos and more on DEI topics.
Community Recruitment Outreach
We actively participate in local and national DEI groups and encourage community engagement in our recruiting efforts via collaborations and partnerships.
Youth Care and Health Care Workgroups
Youth Care and Health Care have diversity workgroups that address the individual needs of the children, families and patients we serve, and develop action plans to retain a vibrant, diverse workforce.
Employee Resource Groups
Boys Town has eight Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that embrace and encourage DEI and are an important part of our organization’s DEI strategy. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups, whose aim is to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employees are welcome to join.
Here’s What Our Employees Had to Say …
The role of a Behavioral Health Technician is to monitor, to lead by example, to be a positive role model, and to address positive and negative behaviors that you see.
My success story would definitely have to be watching these kids graduate. Seeing them hit that milestone with so much joy and their family around, it comes full circle, their whole time here.
